Era 3 Block Reward Reduction to 3.2 ETC

On March 17, 2020, at block 10,000,001, Ethereum Classic entered Era 3 of its fixed monetary policy under ECIP-1017. The block reward reduced from 4 ETC to 3.2 ETC — a 20% decrease.

## The Numbers

| Parameter | Era 2 | Era 3 |
|-----------|-------|-------|
| Block reward | 4 ETC | 3.2 ETC |
| Uncle reward | 0.125 ETC | 0.1 ETC |
| Daily emission | ~26,400 ETC | ~21,120 ETC |
| Annual emission | ~9.64M ETC | ~7.71M ETC |

## Cumulative Supply

By the start of Era 3, approximately 113.4 million ETC had been minted — just over half of the ~210.7 million maximum supply.

## What This Means

The Era 3 reduction continued the predictable deflationary curve established by ECIP-1017. Each era lasts 5 million blocks (~2.5 years at 13-second block times), and each reduces the reward by exactly 20%.

Unlike Bitcoin's abrupt halvings (50% reduction), ETC's fifthenings are a gentler 20% reduction. This provides miners with a more gradual revenue adjustment while still ensuring the supply converges to a hard cap.

## Mining Economics

The reduction to 3.2 ETC per block occurred during a period of relatively low ETC prices. Despite reduced block rewards, mining continued without disruption — miners had advance knowledge of the reduction schedule and could plan accordingly.

## Looking Ahead

Era 4 would arrive at block 15,000,001, reducing rewards further to 2.56 ETC per block.

[View the next block reward reduction →](/research/supply)